Chicken Curry

I felt like having some chicken curry so I looked for some recipes online. I wanted my chicken curry to be as simple as possible, meaning without me having to go and buy a shit-load of spices. The limitations were, I had to have those ingredients at home already or at the worst be able to buy it from the shop downstairs at my apartment. There was no 100% fit so I had to improvise and put my own recipe together.

Recipe

1 whole chicken cut into pieces

4 potatoes

2 tomatoes

2 star anise

4 cloves

2 inch cinnamon stick

5 sprigs curry leaves

2 serai, bruised

Ingredients to be ground

3 tbsp chili paste

1 large onion

5 cloves garlic

2 inches young ginger

1 inch kunyit

3 tbsp meat/chicken curry powder

10 cashewnuts

1 liter water

1 pkt coconut milk

seasoning

I had almost everything at home so I stopped by at the shop and bought what I didn't have which were curry leaves and the santan. I replaced candlenuts (buah keras) with cashewnuts.

As usual, I like to season my meat and let it marinade for a bit so I started with the chicken and marinated it with chicken stock granules.

Skin the potatoes. Quarter the potatoes and tomatoes and set aside. Then peel the ingredients to be ground and proceed to blend to a fine paste.

Heat some oil in a large pot, about 100ml or so. Throw in (not literally lah) the cinnamon, star anise, cloves, serai and curry leaves and sauté for a while. Then add in the grounded ingredients and stir-fry till fragrant and the oil begins to separate. This should be done on medium to low heat so your paste does not burn.

Add in the chicken and continue to fry for about 5 to 10 minutes until chicken is firm. Add in the water and bring to a simmer. Add your potatoes and continue to simmer at a low heat till potatoes and chicken are cooked. Add your tomatoes, cook for a few minutes then add your santan. Season to taste. As usual I season mine in the beginning and just add a touch at the end. I have stated 1 liter of water but you may need more so add more if you need to, depending on your preference on how thick you like your curry. It's easier to add water then to reduce your stock.

I was going to snap a picture with my DSLR but it was out of battery. I somehow left it on and it drained so I used my phone instead. This is after I added the tomatoes and santan.

Here it is, the final product. A picture taken with my phone too with the horrible LED flash.

I managed to charge my battery slightly and it had just enough juice to manage one shot. So, here it is.

My guests swear that it is good and even tapau-ed some home. And they say it is good enough for me to open a shop in the event I lose my job. Hahaha...